Harvard Health Experts and Contributors

Vijay Daryanani has worked for Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital for over 25 years, with the last 12 years as a site supervisor overseeing two clinics in Marblehead, MA. He also has a personal training/life coaching company, V-Fit Productions. For over 20 years he also has worked with ESPN at both the winter and summer X games as a physical therapist, trainer, massage therapist, and educator.

Shinjita Das, MD is a board-certified dermatologist and Instructor in Dermatology at Harvard Medical School. She completed her undergraduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a BS in Biology. Dr. Das returned to her home state of Texas for medical school at the University of Southwestern Medical Center, where she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. After internship in Dallas, she ventured back to Boston for residency at the Harvard Combined Dermatology Residency Training Program, where she served in leadership positions on the Quality Improvement and Program Education committees. She is currently pursuing her Master in Public Health at the Harvard School of Public Health.   In addition to practicing general dermatology, Dr. Das serves as the MGH Department of Dermatology’s inaugural Technology Director. In this capacity, she spear-headed the expansion of the department’s electronic consult (eConsult) service to provide timely outpatient dermatology consultations. She also developed the dermatology eVisit program to allow established patients to have formal check-ins with their dermatologist in-between office visits. As Technology Director, Dr. Das leads and implements operational projects and patient education initiatives using technology-based solutions. Her current research is focused on evaluating ways technology can improve access to high-quality dermatologic care in an efficient manner.

Emma Davies, MD, has a broad-base of clinical interests to effectively manage patients with corneal and lenticular pathology. She is specialized in complex cataract surgery, partial thickness corneal transplantation including Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK) and Descemet Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSAEK), and refractive surgery. As a full-time member of the Cornea and Refractive Surgery Service at Mass. Eye and Ear, she offers exceptional, personalized, and detailed care both in the clinical and surgical settings. She has practices at the Mass. Eye and Ear Main Campus, Mass. Eye and Ear Longwood Campus, and Mass. Eye and Ear Waltham sites.    Dr. Davies earned her bachelor of science in biology with a concentration in marine biology at Duke University. She fulfilled an honors thesis with research in the chemical and visual orientation of estuarine crustaceans. She completed her medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Dr. Davies was granted a Clinical Neuroscience Research Grant to complete research in ganglion cell loss after optic neuritis in multiple sclerosis patients. She was awarded the University of Pennsylvania Ophthalmology Excellence Award at medical school graduation for her work. She completed her medical internship at the Pennsylvania Hospital in the University of Pennsylvania Health Care System. Dr. Davies went on to join the Harvard Ophthalmology residency program at Mass. Eye and Ear. She was awarded the Best Resident Research Award in Cornea and Refractive Surgery at Mass. Eye and Ear for her work in changing trends in herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO) presentation. She continued at Mass. Eye and Ear for her fellowship in Cornea, Refractive Surgery, and External Diseases. She completed work in surgical outcomes for a variety of complex cataract surgery procedures, including scleral-fixated lens placement and cataract surgery in retinitis pigmentosa patients, and investigated predictive factors for corneal clearance after Descemet’s membrane stripping only for patients with Fuchs Endothelial Dystrophy. Dr. Davies brings cutting-edge diagnostic procedures and surgical techniques to her practice at Mass Eye and Ear. She trained with Dr. Pineda for complex cataract surgery techniques (including intra-scleral fixation of a lens after trauma or vitreoretinal surgery) and Dr. Veldman for DMEK techniques (including pre-loaded DMEK grafts) and is eager to continue to expand our advances in corneal and refractive surgery.     As a clinician scientist, Dr. Davies has published a number of studies regarding complex cataract surgery outcomes and techniques as well as the management of complicated corneal infections, including corneal ulcers, infections after keratoprosthesis, and herpes zoster ophthalmicus. She is the author of the corneal ulcer algorithm that has standardized care of corneal ulcers in the Mass. Eye and Ear Emergency Room. She has also published multiple studies regarding state-of-the-art treatments for Fuchs corneal dystrophy patients, particularly Descemet’s membrane stripping without endothelial keratoplasty (DWEK). She currently is studying rho kinase inhibitor impact on corneal clearance after DWEK. 

Paul F. Dellaripa is a rheumatologist and internist at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH). He is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. At BWH, he specializes in lung disorders associated with autoimmune diseases. He participates in clinical trials and clinical investigation to better understand and treat these disorders.

Anne Densmore, Ed.D., is a certified speech pathologist as well as a speech and play therapist. She as also the author of Your Successful Preschooler, a Harvard Health Publishing book published by Jossey-Bass (2011).

Dr. Neelam Desai is a breast medical oncologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She is also a member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, and is an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her research interests are in cancer genetics and HER2-positive breast cancer.

Dr. Nisa Desai is a practicing hospitalist physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. She completed undergraduate education at Northwestern University, followed by medical school at the University of Illinois at Chicago and internal medicine residency at the University of Virginia. She enjoys working with patients with complex medical histories, and is interested in gastrointestinal disorders. For fun, she enjoys traveling, fitness classes, and trying new recipes.

Dr. Catherine M. DesRoches is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who specializes in health policy and emerging trends in health care delivery. She is the principal investigator of the OpenNotes Lab, which designs, evaluates, and guides innovations in clinical documentation, medical records, and patient engagement. She is also the program director for the Keane OpenNotes Fellowship in patient engagement and transparency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. DesRoches completed her doctorate in public health at Columbia University, and was a senior survey researcher and senior fellow at the Mathematica Policy Research. She has held faculty and research positions at Harvard Medical School, Simmons College, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Dr. Jorg Dietrich (MD, PhD, MMSc, FANA, FAAN) is the director of the Cancer & Neurotoxicity Clinic and Brain Repair Research Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center, associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, and attending physician at MGH. His clinical interests are management of patients with benign and malignant brain tumors, and neurologic complications of cancer therapy, including toxicity from radiation, chemotherapy, and immunotherapies. His research activities include clinical, translational, and basic research in the fields of brain tumor biology, biomarkers of cancer, neurotoxicity from cancer therapies, and brain repair mechanisms. Dr. Dietrich is the author of over 150 publications, including original research articles, review papers, book chapters, and other scientific contributions. His work has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, the American Academy of Neurology, and other foundations.

Amy Desrochers DiVasta MD, MMSc, is chief of the division of adolescent medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital. She is the co-director of the adolescent long-acting reversible contraception program, and co-director of the reproductive endocrinology and PCOS program. Dr. DiVasta's research interests include the bone health of young women with low-estrogen states, such as girls with eating disorders, as well as reproductive health issues including long-acting contraception, PCOS, and endometriosis. Dr. DiVasta is also the co-scientific director for the Boston Center for Endometriosis, a joint project between Boston Children’s Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Dr. Jake Dockterman is from Carlisle, MA and earned his bachelor’s degree in molecular and cellular biology from Harvard College. He completed his MD and PhD in immunology at Duke University, studying host-microbe interactions and mucosal immunology. He is now an internal medicine resident at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and plans on pursuing a career as an academic gastroenterologist specializing in inflammatory bowel disease.

Dr. Thomas Dohlman is an assistant professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and a full-time member of the Cornea and Refractive Surgery Service at Massachusetts Eye and Ear. He completed his BS from MIT and MD from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, followed by residency training at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical College and subspecialty training in cornea, refractive surgery, and external disease at Mass Eye and Ear. A clinician-scientist, Dr. Dohlman specializes in the medical and surgical management of corneal and external diseases and is the medical director of the Boston Keratoprosthesis Program at Mass Eye and Ear.

Amy Donabedian is an occupational therapist and certified driving rehabilitation specialist focused on advancing independence, safety, and community mobility. She practices at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Charlestown, MA, where she directs a comprehensive driving rehabilitation program that includes clinical pre-driving assessments and on-road assessments. Amy earned her Post-Professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy (PP-OTD) from the MGH Institute of Health Professions in 2025, with a focus on driving rehabilitation curriculum development. She is an adjunct lecturer in the occupational therapy department at Tufts University, and is actively involved in professional mentorship and advocacy related to community mobility and driver rehabilitation.

Dr. Sara W. Dong is a combined adult and pediatric infectious diseases fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Boston Children’s Hospital. She earned her MD from the Medical University of South Carolina. She completed her internal medicine and pediatrics residency and chief residency at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Her academic interests include transplant and global health.

Darshan Doshi, MD, is an interventional cardiologist who specializes in complex and high-risk coronary interventions. Dr. Doshi received his BA from Columbia University’s Columbia College and his MD from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed his internal medicine residency, and his cardiovascular medicine and interventional cardiology fellowships at the Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Doshi also underwent additional dedicated training at Columbia in complex and high-risk interventional procedures. He was then recruited to the faculty in the Division of Cardiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in 2018. Dr. Doshi also holds a MS in patient-oriented research from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health with a research interest focused on clinical trials evaluating novel cardiovascular devices and therapeutics in interventional cardiology. He has authored several original manuscripts in translational and clinical cardiovascular medicine, and has published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and Circulation, among many others.

Michelle Dossett, MD, PhD, MPH is an assistant physician and clinical researcher at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She board-certified in both internal medicine and integrative medicine. She received her MD and PhD in immunology from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. She completed her internship and residency in internal medicine and research fellowship in complementary and integrative medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. During her fellowship she received a MPH degree from the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Dossett is also a certified Ananda Yoga (RYT 200), restorative yoga, and meditation teacher. Dr. Dossett’s research interests include mind body medicine, the patient-clinician relationship, and clinician well-being. 

Dr. Caleb Dresser is an emergency physician and assistant director of the Climate and Human Health Fellowship, cohosted by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Harvard FXB Center, and Harvard C-CHANGE. His research focuses on understanding the health implications of climate-related disasters, and he is actively involved in efforts to educate health care workers, policymakers, and the general public about the value of action to protect human health in the context of the climate crisis.

Valeria Duque graduated with her doctor of audiology degree from Northeastern University in 2016. She has been a part of the Beth Israel otolaryngology team since February 2019, working with patients diagnosing hearing loss, fitting hearing aids, and conducting vestibular evaluations.